How to Remove Plus Network (Chrome/Firefox)

I wrote this article to help you remove Plus Network. This Plus Network removal guide works for Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Plus Network is a metasearch engine. The website has basic search functions. It supports 19 different languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian, Japanese, Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish, Thai, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese (traditional) and Chinese (simplified). Plus Network also promotes a few useful browser extensions and add-ons. The website may look like a regular search provider, but research has revealed otherwise. Security experts warn that Plus Network is associated to a hijacker. The domain is a pawn of the clandestine program.

What makes the hijacker behind Plus Network dangerous?

The Plus Network hijacker makes unauthorized changes to the web browser’s internal settings. It will reset your homepage and default search engine to plusnetwork.com. The changes are permanent. You will be unable to revert back to your custom preferences before removing the insidious program from your machine. The hijacker alters the search results by placing supported websites between the pages which genuinely match the entered queries. The sponsored domains do not go through security scans. We advise you to refrain from conducting searches until you have been able to rid your system of the Plus Network hijacker.

The interventions are done for a purpose. The malevolent program aims to redirect users to sponsored websites. The creators of the Plus Network hijacker get paid to support third party content. They are rewarded for every successful redirect. The majority of the profit comes from direct advertising. The Plus Network hijacker displays advertisements to promote shopping offers. The windows list bargain deals for a wide selection of consumer goods, including garments, accessories, technological devices, furniture, interior and exterior decorations, gardening equipment, sports gear, books, games and toys.

The Plus Network Virus

The product listings are enticing, but be advised that their sources are under question. The owners of Plus Network do not account for people’s security. This is addressed in the terms of use (TOU). Zone Media Ltd., a company from Jersey, United Kingdom, is the entity behind the platform. The firm has disclaimed liabilities for third party websites. Another security threat you will be faced with is having your browsing sessions monitored and data gathered on you. This encompasses your history, cookies, keystrokes, IP address, geographic location, postal code, place of residence, email, telephone number, user names and passwords. The gathered information will be traded on the darknet.

How can the hijacker behind Plus Network penetrate my system?

If you have never visited plusnetwork.com, do not be surprised to find the hijacker on your machine. The website is not a source for the rogue program at all. The Plus Network hijacker travels through a host file. The first option for the carrier is software. The covert tool can bundle its setup file with the executable of another program and get installed together with it. This process is called bundling. The download client can be a pirated copy of a paid program, a freeware or shareware tool. To prevent the hijacker from getting installed to your computer, find the option for it in the terms and conditions and deselect it. You need to read the end user license agreement (EULA) of the applications you acquire.

The other way for the Plus Network hijacker to infiltrate your machine is through a spam email. This method is seamless. You will not even realize that the clandestine program has been downloaded and installed to your computer. Opening the containing attachment is all it takes to transmit the infection. The spammer will try to convince you that the file is an important document, like a letter, a receipt, a bill, an invoice, a fine or a legal notice. To check if an email is legitimate, proof the sender’s contacts.

Plus Network Uninstall

Before starting the real removal process, you must reboot in Safe Mode. If you are familiar with this task, skip the instructions below and proceed to Step 2. If you do not know how to do it, here is how to reboot in Safe mode:

For Windows 98, XP, Millenium and 7: Reboot your computer. When the first screen of information appears, start repeatedly pressing F8 key. Then choose Safe Mode With Networking from the options.For Windows 8/8.1 Click the Start button, next click Control Panel —> System and Security —> Administrative Tools —> System Configuration.‌ Check the Safe Boot option and click OK. Click Restart when asked.For Windows 10 Open the Start menu and click or tap on the Power button. While keeping the Shift key pressed, click or tap on Restart.

Here are the steps you must follow to permanently remove from the browser:

Right click on the browser’s shortcut, then click Properties. Remove everything after the .exe” in the Target box.

Open Control Panel by holding the Win Key and R together. Write appwiz.cpl in the field, then click OK.

Here, find any program you had no intention to install and uninstall it.

Run the Task Manager by right clicking on the Taskbar and choosing Start Task Manager.

Look carefully at the file names and descriptions of the running processes. If you find any suspicious one, search on Google for its name, or contact me directly to identify it. If you find a malware process, right-click on it and choose End task.

Open MS Config by holding the Win Key and R together. Type msconfig and hit Enter.

Go in the Startup tab and Uncheck entries that have “Unknown” as Manufacturer.

Still can not remove Plus Network from your browser? Please, leave a comment below, describing what steps you performed. I will answer promptly.

Daniel Stoyanov has a Master's degree in Computer Science from the Technical University of Sofia, Bulgaria. He is also a Microsoft Certified Professional. Daniel provides top cyber security news with in-depth coverage of malware, vulnerabilities, PC and Network security, online safety. If you have any questions feel free to ask him right now.

Please open Chrome, click the triple dots on the top-right corner and click More tools -> Extensions. Here, uncheck all extensions, close and open Chrome again. Now, you should not have the problem mentioned before.